Italy Greatest All-Time Team after 1982
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| World Cup 2006 |
Italy All Time Team
Italian diaspora
Southern Italy, Central Italy,
Northern Italy(excluding Lombardy), Lombardy
Italy between 1938 and 1982
Italy waited 44 years before winning the 1982 World Cup. That summer, Serie A also relaxed its policy on foreign players. The best players in the world all went to play over there. For over 20 years, the league became one of the best in the world.
This is my selection of Italy All-Time Team after Italy's World Cup victory in 1982. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.
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| Itatly 1994 |
Team
GK: Gianluigi Buffon
Considered to be one of the greatest keeper ever. He made his Serie A debut at the age of 17. He earned his first cap when he was 19. His biggest achievement must be winning the WC in 2006. He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eight time. He became the most expensive goalkeeper of all time following his transfer from Parma to Juventus in 2001.
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| Gianluigi Buffon |
Zenga was considered one of Italy's greatest keepers. He played 58 times for Italy, notably at the 1990 WC Finals in Italy. He had five clean sheet, a total of 518 minutes without conceding a goal, a record still standing in the WC Finals. He played mainly for Inter Milan.
GK: Gianluca Pagliuca
He made his name with Sampdoria, winning the league in 1990-1991 and reaching the European Cup's final in 1992. In 1994, Inter Milan broke the world transfer record for a keeper to sign him. While at Inter, he reached UEFA Cup Final twice, winning it in 1997-1998. For the national team, he was the starting keeper at both USA 1994 and France 1998.
RB/LB: Gianluca Zambrotta
He was one of the best fullbacks in his prime. He could play both rightback and leftback. He was a member of the 2006 WC winnin team. He was selected to the team of the tournament. He played mainly with Juventus.
RB: Christian Panucci
Panucci's breakout season was the season 1993-1994, when he played 19 games for AC Milan and won the 1994 Champions' League. The highlight of his career was perhaps his three seasons with Real Madrid. He helped them to win the Champions' League in 1998. His longest stint was, however, with Roma. He had 57 caps with Italy, but his career was very rocky. He never secured a regular place with the team.
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| Christian Panucci |
He was considered one of the best defenders in the world during his prime. However, his career with the Azzurri was limited by the same period with Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti, Pietro Vierchowod, Riccardo Ferri, Giuseppe Bergomi, Gianluca Pessotto, Paolo Maldini, and in latter years, stars like Fabio Cannavaro, and Alessandro Nesta. For club football, he played nearly a decade for Napoli during Duego Maradona's years before moving to Juvnetus. At Juventus, he won 6 scudettis and a single Champions' League.
CB: Alessandro Costacurta
He was Baresi's partner at central defense for both club and country. He was a long term serving member of AC Milan. He was a part of 5 Champions' League winning team for AC Milan. However, he only played 59 times for Italy because largely of injuries. He went to two World Cup Finals (in 1994 and 1998), as well as a European Championship in 1996. With Italy, he managed to reach the 1994 World Cup Final, which was lost against Brazil on penalties.
CB: Fabio Cannavaro
Cannavaro was capped 138 times. He was the captain and perhaps, the best Italian player of the 2006 World Cup team. He was named the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the Ballon d'Or award in 2006 which made him the third defender to win the award. He started his career with Napoli and had spells with Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
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| Fabio Cannavaro |
Nesta is considered one of the best defender of his generation. He was the Serie A defender of the Year for 4 times. He started his career with Lazio. Later, he played with AC Milan where he won two Champions' league. He also played in MLS. He earned 78 caps. He played on the 2006 WC winning team, but injured in the third game of the tournament. He also went to 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals as well as the European Championship in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
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| Alessandro Nesta |
Chiellini began his career with Livorno in 2000, also later playing for Roma and Fiorentina, before moving to Juventus in 2005. With Juventus, he has won six consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2017. He earned over 90 caps. He was selected in the nation's squads for the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal, as well as for three UEFA European Championships, two FIFA World Cups and two FIFA Confederations Cups, helping the Azzurri to reach the final of UEFA Euro 2012 and a third-place finish at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
LB: Paolo Maldini
He was considered the greatest leftback of all-time. He won 26 trophies in his 25 year career with AC Milan, including 5 Champions' league trophies. With the Azzurri, Maldini took part in three European Championships, and four World Cups. Although he did not win a tournament with the Italian National team, he reached the finals of the 1994 World Cup in the US and Euro 2000, and the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy and Euro 1988 in West Germany, and was elected into the all-star teams for each of these tournaments, in addition to the Euro 96 all-star team. He was capped 126 times for Italy.
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| Paolo Maldini |
He was a highly regarded destroyer in his prime. He spent 13 years with AC Milan, forming a famous partnership with Andreas Pirlo. He also played for Rangers, Perugia and Sion. He won two Champions' League with the club. For the Azzurri, he earned 73 caps. He went to three World Cup Finals, winning the 2006 WC Finals.
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| Gennaro Gattuso |
At the time of writing, he has played his entire career with Roma. De Rossi inherited the captaincy of Roma at the start of the 2017–18 season following the retirement of Francesco Totti. He was an important player for Italy since making his national debut in 2004. He went to every major international tournaments. He had 117 caps after his retirement from the national team in 2017. He was a member of the 2006 World Cup winning team. He was Italian Footballer of the Year in 2009.
CM: Demetrio Albertini
He was the deep-lying playmaker of the great Milan team of the 1990's. He won 5 league titles in the 1990's and the Champions' League title in 1994. He played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Euro 96, and Euro 2000.
CM: Andrea Pirlo
Pirlo started as an attack midfielder with Inter Milan without success before becoming a regista. He redefined the regista role in the modern game. He had 116 caps. He won the World Cup in 2006 and took Italy to the Final of Euro 2012. For his club career, he was known for his career with AC Milan. He played over 280 matches for them, winning two Champions' League titles. He switched to Juventus late in his career.
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Andrea Pirlo |
Donadoni was one of Italy's greatest wingers. He was a vital part of Milan's squad under both Sacchi and Capello, winning six Serie A titles, three European Cups, four Italian Supercups, three European Super Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups during his time at Milan. He went to the WC Finals in 1990 and 1994.
AM: Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero is considered to be one of Juventus' greatest players. He played with them for 19 years (11 years as captain), and holds the club records for most goals (289) and appearances (705). He also played for Padova. For the national team, he played 91 times for them, despite the fact that Italy had many players fighting for his position. He was on the 2006 team that won the World Cup in Germany. He also went to the World Cup Finals of 1998 and 2002, as well as the European Championship of 1996, 2000 and 2004.
AM/LM: Francesco Totti
Totti was the long serving captain of Roma and perhaps the greatest ever player for the club. He brought the scudetti back to Roma in 2001 after a 20 year drought. He was named the Italian Footballer of the Year for 2000 and 2001. He won the European Golden Boot award in 2006-2007. A 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and UEFA Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments; he also represented his country at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
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| Francesco Totti |
He was the icon of the 1990's. He was the World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or winner and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1993. He led Italy to reach the semifinal at Italia 1990 and then, to a second place four years later. For club football, he started his career with Fiorentina. He became the most expensive player in the world when he joined Juventus. He also played for AC Milan, Bologna, Inter Milan and Brescia.
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| Roberto Baggio |
He first made his name with Sampdoria, helping them to win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. In 1992, he made a world record breaking transfer to Juventus. In 1996, he helped Juventus to win their first ever Champions' League. He went to Euro 1988, where he was named in the team of tournament. However, at Italia 1990, he was unimpressive and lost his starting spot to Roberto Baggio and Salvatore Schillaci. After the WC Finals, he had a feud with manager Sacchi that forced him out of the national team.
ST: Filippo Inzaghi
He is one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time, fifth in Italy, with 313 goals scored in official matches. He is currently the fourth-highest goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals. With AC Milan, he won two UEFA Champions League titles (2003, 2007). he made his national team debut in 1997. He went to all major tournaments from 1998 to 2006. He won the World Cup in 2006, but only played in one match.
ST: Christian Vieri
Born in Italy, but grew up in Australia. He played for 12 clubs in his career. He became the most expensive player in the world when Inter Milan signed him for Lazio. For the national team, he made his debut in 1997 and played in his last game in 2006. He missed out on the 2006 WC team.
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| Christian Vieri |
Francesco Toldo, Angelo Peruzzi, Mauro Tassotti, Gianluca Pessotto, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli, Riccardo Ferri, Giuseppe Giannini, Roberto Mancini, Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Signori, Luca Toni, Dino Baggio, Salvatore Schillaci, Mauro Camoranesi.
Squad Explanation
-- Franco Baresi was a member of the 1982 World Cup team.
-- Buffon is the obvious first choice for goalkeepers, followed by Zenga. Then, Pagliuca edges out Toldo and Peruzzi. Gianluigi Donnarumma will probably become one of the all-time greats, but only time will tell.
-- Mauro Tassotti was more famous than Panucci because he played for that great AC Milan team. But Panucci earned more caps for Italy.
-- Zambrotta can play both sides of the backline.
-- Italy has a lot of talents on the centerback position. Cannavaro and Nesta were the obvious choices. Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Alessandro Costacurta, Riccardo Ferri and Ciro Ferrara were all great backs. In the end, I took Costacurta and Ferrara. Giorgio Chiellini was selected because he could also serve as a backup left back.
Formation
I tried to fit the best players on the starting lineup. I moved Baggio to the right position.
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